12. A Historical View on the Relevance of Music for Society in an Entrepreneurial Approach

The majority of authors who have studied the phenomenon of cultural entrepreneurship have attempted to demonstrate how market conditions and society in general have the power to shape the performances of artistic products, in terms of economical and community relevance. The entrepreneurial concept is linked to the desire for innovation, for transcending conventional traditional practices and knowledge, by focussing creative interests on the real needs expressed by cultural consumers and audiences of concert halls. This research wishes to provide a synoptic view on the existence of this socio-economic phenomenon throughout music history, and thus to show that professional music has almost always been sensitive towards the needs of society, and has succeeded in remaining useful and productive for long periods of time.